The following is an excerpt from the ARRL ARES E-Letter  (November & December 2005, January 2006)

Break Tags

[Check this out, a great idea from Connecticut SEC Rod Lane, N1FNE - ed.]

Some of our DECs and other leadership are drilling their crews on a new method of getting attention on a net called  "Break Tags."

When net communication gets heavy, someone may have a quick solution to a problem that is taking up too much valuable airtime for discussion, but can't break into the net to share it. We came up with "Break Tags" to deal with such a scenario.

There are currently seven one-word Break Tags. They are: "answer," "question," "info," "priority," "medical," "emergency" and your call sign. Most of these tags have been used with great success in large public/emergency services nets. Here is how they work: Instead of saying "break" between transmissions during a directed net, the operator uses the word specified as a Break Tag without a call sign. They are to be used only when the operator's traffic will be appreciated by net control and results in more efficient communication. They are to be used wisely, as net control is directed to stop and turn over the net to the breaker. The message that follows a break should be as short as possible. Definitions and use:

"Break Tags" takes little training. Its use is contagious and comes very naturally. I hope that everyone adopts it. I would like to hear if other groups try it and how it works. It will be a part of our communications from here on in.-- Rod Lane, N1FNE, Section Emergency Coordinator, Connecticut Section < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it >;

+ Feedback on "Break Tags"

The use of "Break Tags" [see last issue] has met with resistance in Colorado because some ECs believe it is just one more thing that operators will need to be schooled in. I disagree that a small amount of additional training is a problem.

I also suggest using break tags when a station initiates an exchange with the net. For example: "Aid3, Info" would tell NCS that the station at Aid3 had a call with information that multiple stations will find informative, yet can be held for a short time if there is more pressing traffic. Or "Aid3, priority" would indicate priority traffic from Aid3. A third example is "Aid3, traffic for Truck1." This clearly indicates what the calling station needs, in one short statement. This process also gently encourages the stations on a net to make sure they have all necessary information for a given call before they key the microphone and have that information organized.

I fully support the use of these "tags" as they are worthwhile. I hope that with the League behind such an effort we can get more people to accept the concept. - Pat Lambert, W0IPL, Colorado ARES Training Manager

+ Oregon Likes "Break Tags"

Re the continuing discussion about the system of "break tags," we gave it a trial run (on an operator-optional basis) at our community's 53rd Annual Christmas Parade and it was very helpful. I think we are sold on the concept. -- Bob Shelby, W7FPY, Oregon